“So, are you just taking a small break? Giving her time?”
“No, I’m thinking it’s a permanent break. Honestly, I’m fond of her, but the woman wears me out with her demands and her acidic remarks to people. And…she tends to be a bit, ah, overly dramatic at times.”
No kidding. And Delbert was one of the most down to earth people Barry had ever met. Even though he was in charge of all the new properties that Hamilton Hotels opened and was next in line to take over the whole company from his father. He did treat his employees well and people loved to get jobs at his hotels as evidenced by the massive number of applicants for jobs at The Cabot.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you two.”Though, he really wasn’t. He wasn’t much impressed by Camille’s whole attitude and couldn’t forget the tears he’d seen in Emily’s eyes when Camille made her dismissive remarks to her.
“It’s for the best. Things have been rough for a while now. I just didn’t have the energy to actually go through with explaining to her why things weren’t working out. Didn’t want to hurt her feelings. And—”Delbert grinned.“I’m sure it’s better thatshedecided we should break up than I did. But it’s just…well, breakups are tough, aren’t they?”
He nodded.“They are.”
“Anyway, as soon as the permits go through, I’ll move in. It will be easier than commuting to Sarasota.”
“Should only be a few more days.”
“So, I’m starving, you want to grab a sandwich here or something?”Del asked.
“That sounds like a plan. I was trying to think what I had in the fridge to cook at home, and the pickings were pretty sparse. I’m not much of a cook these days. Just don’t have the time.”Barry figured Del could use the company tonight. He seemed a bit down—though possibly relieved—about the whole Camille thing.
“Perfect. Let’s get dinner.”
They had their meal, chatting about the rehab, and what was left to do on the finishing touches. An hour later they left, with Delbert heading to Sarasota.
Barry headed back to Sandpiper Court, by now knowing his way all around town with no missteps in the wrong direction. He loved being able to walk everywhere. He’d miss that when this job was over. He doubted he’d ever get a job in a small town like this again. More’s the pity.
His footsteps fell softly on the sidewalks as he walked home in the moonlight, feeling at peace and at one with his world, perhaps for the first time in his life.
Chapter 18
Olivia had been working from early mornings until hours after Parker’s closed for weeks and weeks now, trying to get everything sorted out with the expansion. Things were going well, except when they weren’t. They’d run into some glitches that cost more than she’d budgeted, but a few—very few—things came in under budget and she’d made a few cost-saving decisions.
The original section of Parker’s was taking shape, at least. New lighting to brighten up the once dark corners. She’d scored on some old sturdy wooden shelving units from a store that was closing a few towns over. They made the perfect backdrop for when people entered the store, filled with items that were most needed by their customers.
The back section of the new building was connected first, floor refinished, and she’d moved so much of the lesser bought inventory over there so the original building wasn’t so crowded. While she’d done that, they’d refinished the wooden floors in the original building.
She had to admit, she was pretty proud of how it had all turned out so far. All she needed was to get the as-yet unnamed cafe opened and the ice cream counter up and running again.
She looked up as Heather ducked under the rope blocking off the unopened section.“Hey, cuz.”
“Hey, yourself. You’ve been scarce.”Olivia put down the cloth she was using to clean the windows.
“You’re one to talk. You’ve turned down my last two invites to dinner and you don’t meet me at Brewster’s for coffee anymore in the mornings.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve just been so busy.”
She heard the front door to the cafe open and turned around to tell yet another person they weren’t opened yet. Could people not read the sign on the door? The townspeople were curious, and many had stopped by to see how things were going. As she turned, she was surprised to see Aunt Evelyn standing there. She glanced at Heather and saw that her cousin was more surprised than she was.
“Hi.”Aunt Evelyn walked further in, closing the door behind her.“I wanted to come see how things were coming along.”
“Well, Parker’s is doing great. You should peek in there. And we’ve expanded in the back of the building here. I just need to get the cafe up and running.”
“How’s that coming along?”
“It’s…slow. I’ve got the permits for the kitchen, and this week the order of tables and chairs will be here. But I haven’t found someone to do the baking to stock the bakery counter. I want to start with just baked goods, some really great coffee, and then we’ll still have the ice cream counter, of course.”
“I could,”Aunt Evelyn said.
“You could what?”Heather asked the same question Olivia had been thinking.
